Reusable Period Panties Market

France began reimbursing reusable period pants on 1 October 2026, paying 60% of a pair priced at up to EUR 19 for insured women under 26, two products a year and bought in pharmacies, Service-Public.fr states, under Decree No. 2026-288 of 17 April 2026. Selectra puts the eligible group at 6.7 million women in its note of 12 August 2026. The reusable period panties market covers washable absorbent underwear worn instead of, or with, pads and tampons: briefs, bikinis, thongs, overnight shorts and teen ranges. Douglas Insights sizes it at USD 1.52 billion in 2025, about 95 million pairs at an average selling price of USD 16.00, and at USD 3.39 billion in 2035, an 8.36% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). The study sits beside our Underwear Market, Swim Nappies Market and Hormonal Contraceptive Market reports; every figure follows the Douglas Insights research methodology.

Which period pant style earns the most: briefs, bikinis, overnight shorts or teen ranges?

Briefs and high-rise styles earn the most, 46.0% of 2025 value or about USD 699 million, Douglas Insights estimates. Teen and youth ranges grow fastest, 9.4% a year to USD 448 million by 2035.

Briefs lead because the heavy-flow day is where a washable pair replaces the most pads. Marks & Spencer sells a 3-pack of heavy-absorbency period full briefs for GBP 16, its product page shows, about GBP 5.33 a pair, and Knix sells a high-rise 3-pack for USD 80 on its own site. Modibodi grades its range from Light, equal to about 4 tampons, to Super, about 10, its site shows. Brief value grows 7.6% a year to USD 1.45 billion, a Douglas Insights estimate.

Bikinis and thongs, USD 365 million, grow 8.6% as buyers add light pairs for spotting and back-up days; Knix’s UltraThin No-Show Bikini sells for USD 27. Overnight shorts, USD 274 million, grow 8.8% on longer wear claims: Thinx launched adult Butterfly Shorts at USD 56 in sizes XS to 4X with “up to 12 hours” of protection, its release of 6 October 2026 states, and Knix sells a Super Leakproof Dream Short for USD 42. Teen ranges, USD 182 million, grow fastest at 9.4% because first-period kits are now a gifting and school-programme item. Style values for 2035 sum to USD 3.37 billion, 0.64% below the headline.

Where are reusable period pants sold: brand websites, mass retail, marketplaces or pharmacies?

Brand websites sell the most, 42.0% of 2025 value or about USD 638 million, Douglas Insights estimates. Public and institutional programmes grow fastest, 13.0% a year to USD 258 million by 2035.

Direct sales lead because the category was built online by start-ups that needed fit guides and repeat orders. Essity says it leads “in leakproof apparel with brands such as Knix and Modibodi, sold primarily direct to consumer”, its Annual Report 2025 of 2 March 2026 states. Their share falls from 42.0% to about 35% by 2035 as shelves catch up, a Douglas Insights estimate.

Mass and clothing stores, USD 456 million, grow 8.6% a year. Thinx says it is the “#1-selling reusable period underwear brand” in grocery, drug, mass and dollar stores on unit sales for the 52 weeks to 5 September 2026, its 6 October 2026 release states. Pharmacies, USD 122 million, grow 11.5% because the French scheme pays only for pairs bought in a pharmacy. Public programmes, USD 76 million, grow fastest: Wales spent GBP 3.45 million on period dignity in 2025-26 and requires at least 80% of grant spend to go on environmentally friendly products, the Welsh Government update of 30 March 2026 states. Channel values for 2035 sum to USD 3.43 billion, 1.03% above the headline.

What drives reusable period pant demand: public funding, mass retail or the hygiene majors?

Reusable period pant volume rises 7.5% a year in our base case, from about 95 million pairs in 2025 to about 196 million in 2035. Four drivers add 9.00 points of gross growth; two restraints remove 1.50 points.

Public funding and tax cuts: 2.20 points

Public money adds 2.20 points. France pays 60% of a pair priced at up to EUR 19, or 100% for women covered by the C2S health scheme, from 1 October 2026, Service-Public.fr states, and the UK cut VAT on period pants from 20% to zero on 1 January 2024, saving up to GBP 2 on a GBP 12 pair, HM Treasury said. Wales reports that 97% of products bought under its grants between April 2025 and September 2026 were environmentally friendly, its progress update shows. Douglas Insights estimates that if 10% of France’s 6.7 million eligible women claim 2 pairs a year, the scheme adds about 1.34 million pairs, 1.4% of 2025 world volume.

Mass retail and lower entry prices: 2.60 points

Cheaper shelf pairs are the largest driver, worth 2.60 points. Thinx’s unit leadership across grocery, drug, mass and dollar stores in the 52 weeks to 5 September 2026, from its 6 October 2026 release, shows the brand now sells beyond its own website. Marks & Spencer said customers had paid more than GBP 1.8 million of VAT on its period pants before the cut, its statement of 22 November 2023 shows, a sign of its volume. At about GBP 5.33 a pair in a 3-pack, a retailer pair costs about one third of a USD 27 to USD 48 Knix pair, and Douglas Insights estimates each 10% fall in entry price lifts trial by about 4%.

Hygiene majors building brand portfolios: 2.40 points

Large hygiene companies add 2.40 points by putting period pants beside pads in their marketing budgets. Essity’s Feminine Care sales grew 3.9% organically in 2025, 9% of group sales of SEK 138.49 billion, its Annual Report 2025 shows, and grew 5.6% organically in the third quarter of 2026, its interim report of 22 October 2026 states. Kimberly-Clark calls Thinx “an industry leader in the reusable period and incontinence underwear category” in its 2025 annual report on Form 10-K. When Essity bought 80% of Knix for USD 320 million in 2022, it expected leakproof apparel to grow more than 20% a year over five years outside Asia, its release of 8 July 2022 states.

A large, young user base: 1.80 points

Demography adds the last 1.80 points. Women aged 15 to 49 numbered nearly 2 billion in 2024 and peak at about 2.2 billion in the late 2050s, the UN World Population Prospects 2024 key messages show, and 1.8 billion people menstruate every month, UNICEF states. About 500 million lack access to menstrual products, the World Bank brief of 12 May 2022 estimates. Douglas Insights estimates fewer than 3% of menstruating people own a reusable pair today. Summed, 2.20 + 2.60 + 2.40 + 1.80 = 9.00 points, a Douglas Insights estimate.

What holds period pant volume back: PFAS concerns or disposable competition?

Two restraints remove 1.50 points a year from period pant volume growth: concern over PFAS chemicals takes 0.80 points, and disposable period underwear and washing effort take 0.70 points.

The PFAS concern is the heavier drag because absorbent and moisture-wicking layers were once treated with fluorinated finishes. Thinx agreed a class-action settlement worth up to USD 5 million, paying USD 7 a pair for up to 3 pairs and denying wrongdoing, NPR reported on 20 January 2023. Vermont banned the sale of menstrual products with intentionally added PFAS, expressly including “menstruation underwear”, from 1 January 2026, the Vermont Attorney General’s guidance of November 2025 states. Douglas Insights estimates the trust gap cuts first-time purchase rates by about 5% in the United States.

Disposable substitutes take 0.70 points. Procter & Gamble sells Always ZZZ disposable overnight period underwear in 7-count packs, its product page shows, giving the same shape without the wash. A reusable pair must be rinsed and line dried, and Douglas Insights estimates 1 in 4 first buyers does not buy a second pair because of laundry time.

Which region buys the most reusable period pants, and where does demand grow fastest?

North America buys the most reusable period pants, USD 547 million or 36.0% of 2025 value. Asia Pacific grows fastest, 9.8% a year to USD 852 million by 2035, as mass retail spreads.

North America leads on brand density. Knix had 2021 net sales of CAD 133.6 million, up 97%, when Essity agreed to buy it, the 8 July 2022 release shows, and Thinx entered 558 Walmart stores at USD 16.98 a pair, its release of 8 March 2022 states. Regional value grows 7.0% to USD 1.08 billion, the slowest rate, because the online early adopters have bought.

Europe, USD 486 million, grows 8.4% on public money in France, the UK, Wales and Catalonia, which offered a free cup, a pair of period pants and cloth pads through more than 3,000 pharmacies on a EUR 8.5 million budget, AP reported on 5 March 2024. Asia Pacific, USD 334 million, grows fastest on Australian brands such as Modibodi, which had 2021 sales of AUD 56.7 million, Essity’s release of 7 July 2022 shows, and on Japanese and Indian retail. Latin America grows 9.4% and the Middle East and Africa 9.6%. Regional values sum to USD 1.65 billion in 2026 and USD 3.39 billion in 2035, 0.04% above the headline.

Which companies lead the reusable period panties market?

Essity leads reusable period panties with about 14% of 2025 value through Knix, Modibodi and Bodyform pants, Douglas Insights estimates, ahead of Kimberly-Clark’s Thinx at about 10% and Marks & Spencer at about 4%.

Essity has the deepest portfolio. It paid USD 320 million for 80% of Knix at an enterprise value of USD 400 million, the 8 July 2022 release shows, and AUD 140 million for Modibodi, which had a 9.8% EBITA margin, the 7 July 2022 release states. Its new Personal Care business area, which holds feminine care, grew 3.2% organically to SEK 9.21 billion in the third quarter of 2026, its interim report shows. Douglas Insights estimates Knix and Modibodi together sold about 10 million pairs in 2025.

Kimberly-Clark’s Thinx claims unit leadership in US grocery, drug, mass and dollar stores, and its parent agreed on 2 November 2025 to buy Kenvue, the Form 10-K shows. Primark sells pairs from GBP 6, a launch report shows. Specialists such as WUKA, Period Company and Bambody, and hundreds of private-label makers in China, India and Vietnam, share the remaining 72%, a Douglas Insights estimate.

How much does a pair of period pants cost, from a GBP 5 retailer pair to a USD 56 overnight short?

A reusable period pant sells for an average USD 16.00 in 2025, Douglas Insights estimates, from about GBP 5.33 for a Marks & Spencer 3-pack pair to USD 56 for Thinx Butterfly Shorts.

The price ladder follows absorbency, fabric and channel. Marks & Spencer charges GBP 16 for 3 heavy-absorbency briefs and GBP 20 for a 3-pack of Flexifit styles, its product page shows. Knix lists a USD 27 bikini, a USD 42 Dream Short, a USD 48 Dream Boxer and a USD 80 high-rise 3-pack on knix.com. Thinx for All entered Walmart at USD 16.98, its 8 March 2022 release states, and the adult Butterfly Short costs USD 56, its 6 October 2026 release shows.

Average price rises 0.8% a year in the base case, to about USD 17.33 in 2035, as overnight and teen styles gain share while retailer packs pull entry prices down. France sets a hard ceiling: a reimbursed pant may cost no more than EUR 19 including tax, Selectra reports, about USD 22.04 at a Douglas Insights rate of USD 1.16 per euro. A pair that lasts 2 years and replaces about 9 pads a cycle saves its owner about USD 30 a year at USD 0.25 a pad, a Douglas Insights estimate.

What if public funding spreads or PFAS fears return: how large is the period pant market in 2035?

The reusable period panties market ends 2035 between USD 2.48 billion and USD 4.37 billion across our three cases, around a base of USD 3.39 billion. Public funding and retailer prices set most of the spread.

In the slower case a new PFAS test scandal and cheap disposables cut 2.5 points of volume, and private label holds price flat. In the faster case two more large EU states copy France’s reimbursement and Asian mass retailers stock reusable pairs nationally, adding 2.0 points of volume, while overnight styles add 0.7 points of price. One extra point of yearly revenue growth adds about USD 310 million to 2035 value, a Douglas Insights estimate.

Live signals sit near the base case. Essity’s 5.6% Feminine Care growth in the third quarter of 2026 and the 1 October 2026 French start point up; the slow wash habit points down. The signal to watch is the first French claims count, due in 2027: more than 700,000 claims in the first year would put Europe on the faster path. A second signal is US shelf space: if Thinx or a rival adds a second national dollar-store chain in 2027, Douglas Insights would raise North American volume growth by about 1 point.

Which rules shape period pants, from France’s reimbursement decree to PFAS bans?

Three rule sets shape period pants: reimbursement and tax rules in Europe, PFAS limits on textiles and menstrual products in the United States, and the EU’s widening PFAS restrictions.

The reimbursement layer is new. France’s Decree No. 2026-288 of 17 April 2026 and an order of 6 August 2026 require a reimbursed pant to carry Oeko-Tex Standard 100 class I or II certification and absorb more than 12 ml, Service-Public.fr states, and an UNCAM decision published on 26 September 2026 set the EUR 19 and EUR 15.80 caps for pants and cups, JeChange reported on 27 September 2026. In the UK, period pants have carried a zero VAT rate since 1 January 2024, HM Treasury confirmed.

The chemicals layer tightens. California’s AB 1817 defines regulated PFAS in textiles, including undergarments, as total organic fluorine of 100 ppm from 1 January 2025 and 50 ppm from 1 January 2027, the bill text shows, while Governor Newsom vetoed AB 246 on menstrual products on 8 October 2023, his veto letter shows. Vermont’s ban on PFAS in menstrual underwear applies from 1 January 2026. The EU restriction on PFHxA in Regulation (EU) 2024/2462 applies to clothing textiles from 10 October 2026 at 25 ppb, and ECHA’s risk committee adopted its opinion on a universal PFAS restriction in March 2026, a Beveridge & Diamond alert of 7 October 2026 notes.

Douglas Exclusive: the Reimbursement Price Ceiling Index

The Reimbursement Price Ceiling Index is a Douglas Insights model of 12 inputs: 7 company records, 4 official records and 1 news report, listed below. It measures how much of the market sits under France’s EUR 19 cap.

The finding, a Douglas Insights estimate: at USD 1.16 per euro, the EUR 19 cap equals about USD 22.04. Retailer pairs at about GBP 5.33 and the USD 16.98 mass pair sit well under it, while Knix single pairs at USD 27 to USD 48 sit 23% to 118% above it and the USD 56 Thinx short sits 154% above it. We estimate about 55% of world pairs but only about 35% of world value sell below the cap.

The index changes how to read Europe. Public money will flow mostly to pharmacy and mid-price brands that can certify to Oeko-Tex and price at or below EUR 19, not to premium direct sellers. Douglas Insights therefore expects the French scheme to add volume faster than value, holding the global price leg near 0.8% a year.

How does the methodology turn 95 million pairs into USD 1.52 billion?

Our methodology multiplies about 95 million reusable period pants sold in 2025 by an average selling price of USD 16.00 to reach USD 1.52 billion, then grows volume 7.5% a year and price 0.8% a year.

The model covers 4 styles, 5 channels and 5 regions, using 56 data points, 21 sourced and 35 modelled. Volume comes from a regional build: about 31 million pairs in North America, 32 million in Europe, 22 million in Asia Pacific, 6 million in Latin America and 4 million in the Middle East and Africa, Douglas Insights estimates drawn from brand sales, retailer pack prices and public programme budgets. Arithmetic: 95 million x USD 16.00 = USD 1.52 billion; USD 1.52 billion x (1.075 x 1.008)^10 = USD 3.39 billion. Volume reaches about 102 million pairs in 2026 and 196 million in 2035.

Two cross-checks agree. First, Knix’s CAD 133.6 million and Modibodi’s AUD 56.7 million of 2021 sales, about USD 145 million together, grown 15% a year would be about USD 254 million in 2025, above our 14% Essity share of USD 213 million, which implies slower growth since 2022 than Essity’s own plan. Second, if 3% of the 1.8 billion people who menstruate own reusable pairs and replace 2 pairs every 2 years, world demand is about 54 million pairs a year from replacement alone, consistent with 95 million including first purchases. AI tools help draft the text and automated checks test the arithmetic and links; the Douglas Insights research desk chooses the sources, builds the model and approves publication, as our editorial standards explain.

Sources

1. Service-Public.fr Précarité menstruelle: reimbursement of reusable period products (2026)
2. Selectra Remboursement des culottes menstruelles, octobre 2026 (2026)
3. Marks & Spencer 3-pack heavy absorbency period full briefs (2026)
4. Knix Knix leakproof underwear range and prices (2026)
5. Modibodi Modibodi absorbency levels (2026)
6. Thinx (PR Newswire) Thinx introduces Butterfly Shorts (2026)
7. Essity Essity Annual and Sustainability Report 2025 (2026)
8. Welsh Government Period Proud Wales action plan progress update (2026)
9. HM Treasury VAT on period pants scrapped (2024)
10. Marks & Spencer Period pants VAT campaign (2023)
11. Essity Essity Q3 2026 interim report (2026)
12. US SEC Kimberly-Clark 2025 Form 10-K (2026)
13. Essity Essity acquires Knix (2022)
14. UN DESA World Population Prospects 2024 key messages (2024)
15. UNICEF Menstrual hygiene (2026)
16. World Bank Menstrual health and hygiene (2022)
17. NPR / WHYY Thinx PFAS lawsuit settlement (2023)
18. Vermont Attorney General Guidance on PFAS product bans (2025)
19. Procter & Gamble Always ZZZ disposable overnight period underwear (2026)
20. Thinx (PR Newswire) Thinx for All expands into Walmart (2022)
21. AP / NY1 Catalonia offers free reusable menstruation products (2024)
22. Essity Essity acquires Modibodi (2022)
23. Hertfordshire Mercury Primark launches period underwear (2021)
24. JeChange Deux protections menstruelles remboursées par an (2026)
25. LegiScan California AB 1817 text (2022)
26. Office of the Governor of California AB 246 veto message (2023)
27. EUR-Lex Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/2462 (PFHxA) (2024)
28. Beveridge & Diamond New EU PFHxA limits take effect (2026)

What counts in the reusable period panties study, and what is excluded?

The reusable period panties study counts new washable period and leakproof underwear for menstruation sold through brand websites, stores, marketplaces, pharmacies and public programmes. Disposable period underwear, menstrual cups, cloth pads and adult incontinence briefs are excluded.

The study splits value by 4 styles, 5 channels and 5 regions: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa. Everyday lingerie appears in our Underwear Market report, washable swimwear for infants in the Swim Nappies Market study and hormonal cycle control in the Hormonal Contraceptive Market report.